Obama's Version of Peace, Freedom & Dignity

President Barack Obama has never said that his goal is for America to win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has always said that his goal is to end those wars. Given this, why should he be trusted to start a war with Syria? What do you expect would happen with a Commander-in-Chief like President Obama?

We now have an additional reason to distrust President Obama with the tools of war. President Obama stated in his address from the White House on September 10, 2013: "The majority of the Syrian people -- and the Syrian opposition we work with -- just want to live in peace, with dignity and freedom."

The Syrian opposition we work with do not want to "live in peace, with dignity and freedom." On September 11, 2013 the Washington Post described how we are working with the Syrian opposition and gave a brief description of the identity of this opposition:

The CIA has begun delivering weapons to rebels in Syria, ending months of delay in lethal aid that had been promised by the Obama administration, according to U.S. officials and Syrian figures. The shipments began streaming into the country over the past two weeks, along with separate deliveries by the State Department of vehicles and other gear - a flow of material that marks a major escalation of the U.S. role in Syria's civil war.

The arms shipments, which are limited to light weapons and other munitions that can be tracked, began arriving in Syria at a moment of heightened tensions over threats by President Obama to order missile strikes to punish the regime of Bashar al-Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons in a deadly attack near Damascus last month.

The arms are being delivered as the United States is also shipping new types of nonlethal gear to rebels. That aid includes vehicles, sophisticated communications equipment and advanced combat medical kits. (snip)

The latest effort to provide aid is aimed at supporting rebel fighters who are under the command of Gen. Salim Idriss [sic], according to officials, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because part of the initiative is covert. Idriss [sic] is the commander of the Supreme Military Council, a faction of the disjointed armed opposition. The latest effort to provide aid is aimed at supporting rebel fighters who are under the command of Gen. Salim Idriss [sic], according to officials, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because part of the initiative is covert. Idriss [sic] is the commander of the Supreme Military Council, a faction of the disjointed armed opposition.

On September 5, 2013, CNSNews.com reported on a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) of an interview General Idris gave to Al Jazeera on May 8, 2013. It is reasonable to assume that President Obama was aware of this interview before his speech on September 10, 2013. He should have been aware of it immediately after May 8, either from U.S. Government sources or from the MEMRI translation posted on its website on that date. He certainly should have known about it by September 5, after publication of the story by CNSNews.com. Does General Idris sound like a man who "just want[s] to live in peace, with dignity and freedom" or does he sound like a man who has another plan? Here is what CNSNews reported:

Brigadier General Salim Idris, who Sen. John McCain has called a "fine leader" and who leads the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is supported by the Obama administration, told Al Jazeera in a May 8 video interview that "Israel is an enemy country" and that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese terrorist group Hizballah are "Israeli collaborators."

"Israel is an enemy country," Idris said, according to a translation of his remarks made by the Middle East Media Research Institute. "I say this loud and clear. It occupies Syrian lands. The FSA will not change its position regarding that country before it withdraws from the Syrian lands, and recognizes the legitimate rights of the Arab Palestinian people."

In the same Al Jazeera interview, Idris accused Bashar al-Assad and Hizballah (which is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. government) of being "Israeli collaborators."

"As for us being Israeli collaborators--the only Israeli collaborator in the region is the criminal Bashar," said Idris. "The Israeli collaborators are the people who put on the show of the 2006 war--Hizballah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah. They diverted all their forces to the slaughtering of Syrians. Their scheme is totally clear. They used to hide behind the pretext of resistance and the fight against Israel, but now it has become clear that they are implementing a sectarian, Iranian, Safavid plan in the region."

Apparently, President Obama and his supporters believe that a man who regards Israel as "an enemy country" that occupies Syrian lands" is also a man who "just want[s] to live in peace, with dignity and freedom." President Obama is giving such a man, General Idris, "light weapons and other munitions" and "vehicles, sophisticated communications equipment and advanced combat medical kits."

He is doing this with your tax dollars and in your name. What are you going to do about it?

Allan J. Favish is an attorney in Los Angeles. His website is allanfavish.com. He has co-authored with James Fernald a book about what might happen if the government ran Disneyland entitled "Fireworks! If the Government Ran the Fairest Kingdom of Them All (A Very Unauthorized Fantasy).

President Barack Obama has never said that his goal is for America to win the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has always said that his goal is to end those wars. Given this, why should he be trusted to start a war with Syria? What do you expect would happen with a Commander-in-Chief like President Obama?

We now have an additional reason to distrust President Obama with the tools of war. President Obama stated in his address from the White House on September 10, 2013: "The majority of the Syrian people -- and the Syrian opposition we work with -- just want to live in peace, with dignity and freedom."

The Syrian opposition we work with do not want to "live in peace, with dignity and freedom." On September 11, 2013 the Washington Post described how we are working with the Syrian opposition and gave a brief description of the identity of this opposition:

The CIA has begun delivering weapons to rebels in Syria, ending months of delay in lethal aid that had been promised by the Obama administration, according to U.S. officials and Syrian figures. The shipments began streaming into the country over the past two weeks, along with separate deliveries by the State Department of vehicles and other gear - a flow of material that marks a major escalation of the U.S. role in Syria's civil war.

The arms shipments, which are limited to light weapons and other munitions that can be tracked, began arriving in Syria at a moment of heightened tensions over threats by President Obama to order missile strikes to punish the regime of Bashar al-Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons in a deadly attack near Damascus last month.

The arms are being delivered as the United States is also shipping new types of nonlethal gear to rebels. That aid includes vehicles, sophisticated communications equipment and advanced combat medical kits. (snip)

The latest effort to provide aid is aimed at supporting rebel fighters who are under the command of Gen. Salim Idriss [sic], according to officials, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because part of the initiative is covert. Idriss [sic] is the commander of the Supreme Military Council, a faction of the disjointed armed opposition. The latest effort to provide aid is aimed at supporting rebel fighters who are under the command of Gen. Salim Idriss [sic], according to officials, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because part of the initiative is covert. Idriss [sic] is the commander of the Supreme Military Council, a faction of the disjointed armed opposition.

On September 5, 2013, CNSNews.com reported on a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) of an interview General Idris gave to Al Jazeera on May 8, 2013. It is reasonable to assume that President Obama was aware of this interview before his speech on September 10, 2013. He should have been aware of it immediately after May 8, either from U.S. Government sources or from the MEMRI translation posted on its website on that date. He certainly should have known about it by September 5, after publication of the story by CNSNews.com. Does General Idris sound like a man who "just want[s] to live in peace, with dignity and freedom" or does he sound like a man who has another plan? Here is what CNSNews reported:

Brigadier General Salim Idris, who Sen. John McCain has called a "fine leader" and who leads the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is supported by the Obama administration, told Al Jazeera in a May 8 video interview that "Israel is an enemy country" and that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese terrorist group Hizballah are "Israeli collaborators."

"Israel is an enemy country," Idris said, according to a translation of his remarks made by the Middle East Media Research Institute. "I say this loud and clear. It occupies Syrian lands. The FSA will not change its position regarding that country before it withdraws from the Syrian lands, and recognizes the legitimate rights of the Arab Palestinian people."

In the same Al Jazeera interview, Idris accused Bashar al-Assad and Hizballah (which is designated a terrorist group by the U.S. government) of being "Israeli collaborators."

"As for us being Israeli collaborators--the only Israeli collaborator in the region is the criminal Bashar," said Idris. "The Israeli collaborators are the people who put on the show of the 2006 war--Hizballah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah. They diverted all their forces to the slaughtering of Syrians. Their scheme is totally clear. They used to hide behind the pretext of resistance and the fight against Israel, but now it has become clear that they are implementing a sectarian, Iranian, Safavid plan in the region."

Apparently, President Obama and his supporters believe that a man who regards Israel as "an enemy country" that occupies Syrian lands" is also a man who "just want[s] to live in peace, with dignity and freedom." President Obama is giving such a man, General Idris, "light weapons and other munitions" and "vehicles, sophisticated communications equipment and advanced combat medical kits."

He is doing this with your tax dollars and in your name. What are you going to do about it?

Allan J. Favish is an attorney in Los Angeles. His website is allanfavish.com. He has co-authored with James Fernald a book about what might happen if the government ran Disneyland entitled "Fireworks! If the Government Ran the Fairest Kingdom of Them All (A Very Unauthorized Fantasy).